Coachmen, The

4 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  4      Service  5      Value  4     

This place is barely "Ok" for a large group who want to have a cheap meal and watch a show with a bit of a dance after dinner. The lovely thing was seeing some elderly couples hit the dance floor first up, Saturday night meal and dance for over 70's - that was very cute.

The show violinist was engaging, but the showgirls wore incredibly skimpy outfits and I'm no prude. There were children at dinner who didn't know where too look as the costumes were more like something you'd see in the Cross. I'm surprised their parents didn't take them out of the room.

We had a group of about 20 people, with a 4 option set menu. The food was basic, my main came out as a chunk salmon (which was tasty) with a bit of mashed potato smeared across the plate and a teaspoon of shredded carrot/ zucchini, and there were no side dishes to fill the gaps. Airplane food has more variety in a main meal.

The service varied. We had a male waiter who was incredibly attentive and courteous, but when we had a problem with the meal another woman came out and it was almost like we got in trouble for making a fuss. The bar staff were brilliant, great sense of humour!

The ambience of the place was one of family groups having a fun night out. Which it what it was all about. Just because it is in Surry Hills does not mean anything, it could have been located anywhere and still have the same crowd. When we left at the end of the night the dance floor was full, so it is hard to give this place a negative rating, there were a whole lot of people really enjoying their night.

But it is not my cup of tea, I usually go to a restaurant for the food and not the entertainment. I'm not sure I will go back. It was hard to ignore that the place is old and tired and the whole experience was off the mark for me.

May 27, 2012 

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  2      Service  2      Value  2     

We booked a table for 6:30 only to find the place closed when we arrived. We should have taken this hint and stayed away. Anyway since we were hungry we called the place and they gernerously opened the door for us. I f we weere hungry we were to stay that. The portions are small, food is average and the service is atrocious outright rude. I will never return.

Sep 08, 2011 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  3      Value  1     

Went there tonight on a voucher and felt very disappointed.

Got there at 6:30 pm for our appointment and we stood there waiting while two couples were seated at the bar area being served wine. It was a bit awkward as it was very very quiet and the waiter/manager seems to be doing everything himself. He seated us in between the two couples and we all waited another 5 minutes before we were taken into the restaurant to be seated.

The restaurant is nicely decorated with Russian dolls and colourful wall paper, although whole ambience is quite dark and the place smells of mould. Once inside there were two female waitresses and they were friendly, however, service was slow and awkward.

Food was average and since this is my first time having Russian food so I can't really comment on how authentic it is, but tastes just like what u get from the local pub or RSL club.

Overall experience is below average and I wouldn't recommend it to my friends. Whole place feels depressing and miserable.

Aug 31, 2011 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  2      Value  1     

As some of the comments below suggest, this was definitely a sub-par experience on a voucher.

To begin, there was no choice of the included cocktail (tasted like cough syrup/cordial). The food was not bad, but was quite heavy and stodgey - what one would expect from a bistro. Coffee included at the end of the meal was bland.

The decor is interesting, with a "classic" style of presentation. However, the leaking roof and lack of heating made for a very dreary evening. The service was prompt, but slightly awkward.

The experience was akin to Anthony Bourdain's on his show "No Reservations". We will not be returning.

Aug 07, 2011 

1.3 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

We went here on a voucher and will Never return. We were put in a side room which was damp and freezing cold. The service was appalling, we had better service actually in Russia!.

Our food, both entree and main were sent back as served on cold plates so food was cold. The wait staff were also pushy, one pushed me out of the way to get through the door first! On our voucher we were to get 4 Russian drinks, I do not think normal run of the mill coffee is Russian. Over all a complete rip off. This restaurant is tired and not at all worth the price.

Jul 30, 2011 

4.8 Average

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  1      Value  4     

The food was very nice. This is exactly what I would expect to be feed at a sweet Russian Grandmothers house.

I liked the Russian music and the dolls and it seemed to have an old Russian house kind of feel, but it was a little depressing. There was only 1 waiter and not very many customers. The waiter on the floor was really rude to us, to the point that we actually felt like we were a massive inconvenience. It took him about 10 minutes to bring us a menu and table water after we were finally seated. He huffed when we asked for a drinks menu and then quickly told us the drinks available, so quick that I just ordered a wine and my friend order the first cocktail because we didn't want to ask him to repeat himself.

It was very obvious to us that this restaurant is on it's last legs and it's a sad feeling. It looks like a family business and I don't know if the waiter is part of the family but he really didn't care about how he portrayed himself or represented the restaurant. I love food and I live in the area, if he were nicer I could turned into a regular. Shame really.

Jun 24, 2011 

6.3 Average

Food  5      Ambience  9      Service  6      Value  5     

Came here for the first time a few weeks ago with a large group for a birthday party.

Food, having been the first russian restaurant I tried, I can't say too much on the quality and authenticity of the dishes, however, in general it wasn't too bad. The mains were pretty standard, I chose the lamb. The proportions were enough to fill you up. I believe we ordered the banquet so there were quite a few small salads, followed by grounded scallops, mushroom cheese in a small bread mould, the main, then the cake. Drinks were also included.

Ambience, this was by far the liveliest restaurant I've been to in a while! (if not at all). There was live entertainment, great fun music, can can dancers and singing/violin playing.

Service, this wasn't too shabby though definitely not the best. I think the biggest problem they have is having enough staff on board to manage all the patrons as the restaurant is quite big for surry hills. I attempted to call one to order some more drinks and they were less than attentive but this might've been due to low staffing on the night, not too sure.

Value, unfortunately, I came as a plus one so had no idea how much the bill was or the banquet price so can't really comment but from what I've heard from others the price is a little above standard due to the entertainment costs being included.

Overall this place is great for groups and parties though I might not recommend it as much for couples or romantic dates.

Mar 25, 2011 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

We went as a group for the set price deal - it is hard to imagine a worse night out. It started with a cash bar with no change and a choice of one beer which was terrible. Lite beer was advertised on menus and full bottles of Pure Blonde adorned the bar top but neither was available for sale. The barman (and most food waiters)all spoke broken English and had no idea of what constituted good service.

So we sat down for the set menu food which again was just plain ordinary. Orange coloured borsch soup with not a beetroot in sight for an entree followed by a dry, chicken main course then a measly piece of cake which was passed off as chocolate mousse. None of the other choices of entrees or main courses or group ordered received a favourable comment.

When it came to ordering a bottle of wine back at the bar 4 reds were available but only one could be purchased at the bar - the others had to be ordered via the kitchen? Oh and the bar had run out of change once again. A polite complaint and query to the barmen about how badly the bar was run was met with a shrug of the shoulders and a conversation in Russian between the two barmen - what could you expect?

The entertainment, which was regularly interspersed by feedback through the speakers may have been ok if you were Russian but at least some of the ladies in our group got up to dance.

Food - just plain awful; Service - the same; Ambience - the whole place could do with a good clean and overall value poor.

It may be acceptable if you were in Russia but we were not. We had been there once before with the same group about 10 months ago and it was barely tolerable then. It was a mistake coming back as it was a lot worse second time around. Never again.

Mar 07, 2011 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Well what a great night. 2 couples had a fantastic night. The food was great and the atmosphere was fantastic and violin was unreal and later on the cabaret dancers great.
We had a fantastic time. I wasn't sure what to expect after reading some of the earlier reviews, but our experience was all good. Well done staff at the Coachmen, we will be back.

Feb 16, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  10     

I don't think I have had quite as much fun at a restuarant, ever. I went here for a friends birthday, and the food is ok, nothing special, but our group had a great time mainly as a result of the live music and dancing. It is great fun and we ended up dancing the night away with a mongolian hen party, genius. I love this place and would certainly go back again with a group.

Dec 20, 2010